He Started It by Samantha Downing | @smariedowning @MichaelJBooks @sriya__v

Delighted to welcome you all to my stop on the blog tour for He Started It by Samantha Downing! My thanks to Sriya at Michael Joseph for the invitation to join!

Author : Samantha Downing
Title : He Started It
Pages : 377
Publisher : Michael Joseph
Publication date : April 30, 2020

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

No-one knows you better than your family.

They know the little things that make you smile. Your proudest achievements. Your darkest secrets.

Sure, you haven’t always been best friends.

But if it seemed as though someone was after you, that you might be in danger, then you’d be on each other’s side.

Right?

| MY THOUGHTS |

A dysfunctional family on a two week long road trip across the United States, with the promise of a pot of gold at the end of it …. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?!

When siblings Eddie, Beth and Portia were children, their grandfather took them on a road trip. Now, their grandfather has died and he’s left behind quite the inheritance. In order to get their share, the siblings must take that childhood road trip again and scatter granddad’s ashes when they reach their final destination. Right off the bat, you have questions. Who is this “he”? What did he start? Where will it end, OMG?!

These three siblings hide a multitude of sins, lies and secrets. None are particularly likeable, nor reliable. It’s really unsurprising that they don’t get along. Throw in the promise of a whole lot of money, which brings out the worst in people at the best of times, and the proverbial is bound to hit the fan at some point. But if you think you know what’s coming, you’re in for a big surprise. He Started It is so twisty, it almost short-circuited my brain!

The original trip wasn’t exactly successful and the reasons for that are slowly revealed throughout the story. Obviously, I can’t say anything more about that. The current trip doesn’t fare that much better. It might just put you off road trips forever! Samantha Downing quite clearly put a lot of time in researching places and while none of them would be high on my list of things to visit, I did find them rather fascinating. In an odd sort of way.

He Started It is a gripping, compelling, utterly twisty (and twisted), often claustrophobic slow-burner of a story. A true page-turner, it’s cleverly plotted, extremely dark and it all leads to a mind-blowingly shocking ending. Like seriously, in a jaw dropping to the floor kind of way.

I had high expectations for this one because Samantha Downing’s debut novel, My Lovely Wife, was an absolute corker. While I still feel that one has a slight edge over this one, I did thoroughly enjoy this one and days later, I’m still thinking about it and who doesn’t love a book that can do that?! As far as authors in this genre go, Samantha Downing is without a doubt right up there on the list and I absolutely can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

He Started It is available to buy! (US readers will have to wait until July)

Affiliate link : Bookdepository
Other retailers : Amazon US | Amazon UK | Hive UK | Kobo | Waterstones

| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

Samantha Downing is the author of the Edgar Award-nominated novel My Lovely Wife. Amazon Studios and Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films have partnered to produce a feature film based on the novel.

She currently lives in New Orleans, where she is furiously typing away on her next novel.